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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Oh I had fun doing this! It was hard to keep my hands steady, but I managed to Zentangle a MUNNY from KidRobot. I used a Pigma Micron black pen and it took a few days for the ink to dry to a non-smearing state.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

I have been working on the "Red" book in a round robin with some other women artists. Called "Hues'n Views" - 12 artists each have a month to work on an altered book before sending it on. There are only a few books left. Then we'll do a big show. I haven't seen my original book ("Jewel Tones") since I sent it off! I was excited to have the Red book for February - seemed like a no-brainer to do something for Valentine's Day. It's taken me a week to get around to scanning it, but here it is, in honor of Valentine's!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I'm going to ToyFair. I'm going to ToyFair!! I've wanted to go for 20 years. When I was in art school in NY I walked past the Toy Showrooms and the toy building and dreamed of seeing all the cool new stuff inside. (I LOVE toys!) I don't love the electronic plastic, big box, ooh & aah-then-toss-it kind of toys. I love German toys, cool figures, action figures, original dolls, weird underground figures. My studio and home are filled with figures. My studio window frames are lined with Legos, Fabuland creatures, old Fisher-Price Little People. My treehouse is all Legos and Playmobil castle..... and this all before I had kids!! (I'm not good at sharing either). Oh, and I also love monsters made by Charleen Kinser. We have two Closet Beastie Toos. I've been haunting ebay for years trying to get my FP Castle some new royalty. My brother threw all the figures, except the prince and the dragon, into our fire place. No, I'll never forgive him! It's amazing how much they sell for, though, so the little prince may have to live alone. Well, not really alone, he's got Strawberry Shortcake and Holly Hobbie for company.

I had a lot of compromising to do when my son was little - Legos and Playmobil. But I think it will be even worse now with a 14 month old girl! I need to get another Castle for my daughter! The new ones just aren't the same. The old one wasn't girly, and it wasn't violent-boy. Anyone could have a good adventure.

So... ToyFair. Now, 20 years later, I have a REAL toystore and I can officially attend ToyFair - which is at Javitts Center in NYC. A little bit different than the showrooms, but I'm not too fussy. I will drag myself past the 3000 vendors in search of really GOOD toys. The kind you can actually PLAY with. (What's the point of a toy that does everything itself?) In search of the toys that will be desperately sought after on eBay 20 years from now. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sometimes it is hard to shake a dream. A dream as in a nightmare type thing or a goal-type dream. A few years ago I started having dreams about a little girl with reddish hair and blue eyes. Even though I had been sure that I only wanted to have one child - who was 8 at that time - and even though my family thought I was insane, and my friends thought I'd not been "careful" - I knew this little girl was meant to be part of my family. Today, she's 1 year and 2 months old. And she has reddish hair and blue eyes.

I have another dream - of being part of a local Art Center. A place with studios - big ones! And lots of creative, fun people, and sunshine. Everywhere I've lived, I've tried to get into a place like that. In my little town, there is no place like that. But all of a sudden, there's a huge barn-like warehouse available up the mountain from town. And now I can't stop the visions! I dream about huge studios, a black-box type theatre, a dance studio, workrooms for art classes... and down the center of the space, an ArtWalk. Our town is so cold and windy in the winter (all 6!) that you can't really go outside with your kids. I imagine a space between the studios with skylights for sunshine and street lamps for evening light, park benches and sculptures to climb on. A little cafe near the playground and murals all the way down the walkway. Parents and babysitters could bring kids and strollers and get culture and get rid of cabin fever. Joggers could run safely too.

I've been trying to network and get advice and encouragement... but even though many people like the idea and would like to have a studio... no one really wants to have to build and organize such a thing. The last person I talked to (whose hobby it is to rejuvenate old buildings for new businesses) told me it wouldn't be worth the money it would take to fix it up - and I didn't want to become an administrator. That's true, I suppose. I don't want the headaches and the paperwork - I just want to be a part of the studio-life!

Who knows what will happen. I called another person for advice and she asked me to be on a Board for the rejuvenation of a local school into a community center. Close... but still not a studio. Maybe what I really need is better organization, a really good babysitter and momentum to just MAKE stuff. Stop thinking about art and ideas and time to start DOING them!!!